Ishant Sharma Likely To Be Fit For India's Tour Of Australia- Reports

Indian pacer Ishant Sharma, who was recently injured in the ongoing Indian Premier League (IPL 2020) is likely to be back in the Indian team for India’s tour of Australia later this year in December. Ishant Sharma missed the initial few games of IPL 2020 with an injury and after having played a couple of games for Delhi Capitals (DC), he was ruled out of the entire tournament.

India’s tour of Australia is scheduled to take place from November this year. Recently, Cricket Australia and the Board of Control for Cricket in Indian (BCCI) declared the schedule of the entire tour from November 27 which will consist of 3 T20Is, 3 ODIs, and 4 Test matches. If Ishant Sharma will be fit in time, he will likely join the Indian Test side.

Ishant Sharma Likely To Be Fit For India’s Tour Of Australia- Reports

As per the report published in ESPNCricinfo, “Injured fast bowler Ishant Sharma is likely to be fit for India’s first Test of the Australia tour in December. That is the opinion of the National Cricket Academy (NCA), located in Bengaluru, where Sharma travelled to after being ruled out of the IPL due to a muscle tear.”

“The NCA, which is headed by former India captain Rahul Dravid, noted in a letter to the BCCI that Sharma, subject to his rehab going well, is expected to start bowling from November 18. Sharma is expected to then gradually increase his workload, with the NCA optimistic that he would be match fit for the Day-Night Test in Adelaide, scheduled to begin on December 17,” the report further read.

The NCA, however, has pointed out that Sharma would need to play at least one practice match before he is declared ready to bowl in the Tests.

Selection Committee To Announce The Team Next Week: Reports

It is informed the Selection Committee is likely to announce the Indian team for Australia next week on Monday. Any final decision on Ishant Sharma will officially be taken in that very meeting.  A formal itinerary has not been announced but as per the schedule submitted by Cricket Australia to the BCCI, the tour will start on November 26 and end on January 19.

As per some media reports, the BCCI is likely to send a 32-member jumbo squad for the Australian tour keeping in mind the length of the tour. All the final announcements of the dates and quarantine period will be announced within the next week. Families of the players have been strictly advised to stay back and not accompany the members on the tour.